Why Nothing Gets Rebuilt on Artesia Boulevard, and What Measure ART Would Actually Change

"Right now there is no reason; you can't build anything bigger than you have." District Four Councilman Zein Obagi, Jr. said that to Easy Reader this month, describing the strip of Artesia and Aviation Boulevards that runs through North Redondo.

That one sentence explains most of what buyers see when they drive the corridor. The streets around it keep getting nicer, and the boulevard itself mostly looks the way it did decades ago. Artesia stays put because its rules make standing still the rational choice for the people who own it. With the Measure ART vote set for November 3, the useful question is how much of that math a yes vote changes, and how much stays the same.

The Arithmetic of Standing Still

Floor Area Ratio caps how much building can sit on a lot. Artesia and Aviation currently allow 0.6, so a 10,000-square-foot lot can hold 6,000 square feet of building. Height tops out at two stories.

Many existing buildings already sit at or near those limits. An owner who tears one down gets back roughly the same box, after months of lost rent and a construction bill. Rebuilding offers no upside, so nobody rebuilds.

The city reached the same conclusion years ago. A September 2019 presentation to the General Plan Advisory Committee looked back at the 2013 Artesia Vitalization Strategy and the 2018–2019 revitalization committee. It found that implementation had stalled in part because of:

• Lack of local advocacy, action, and ownership of recommendations
• Long-term owners with little debt and low vacancy
• Low-scale development standards
• Limited change since originally developed

The second item drives the rest. An owner with no mortgage and steady tenants feels no pressure from a lender, a vacancy, or a balloon payment. Even when vacancies did build up, change didn't follow. In July 2023, the Daily Breeze reported that city staff estimated at least 15% of the corridor's retail space was empty, in buildings dating to the 1950s and a car-oriented 1970s plaza. Empty space alone was never enough to make rebuilding worth it under a 0.6 cap.

Obagi's own description of the land, also in Easy Reader: "Per square foot, this is probably the cheapest real estate in the beach cities."

What a Yes Vote Changes on Paper

Measure ART rewrites the ceiling. The City's August 2026 land use analysis and the City Attorney's impartial analysis lay out the corridor changes:

Going from 0.6 to 1.5 is a two-and-a-half-fold increase in what a lot can hold. Across the affected segments, the city calculates 2,455,471 additional square feet compared with what stands there now. The same analysis calls it "highly unlikely" that every property builds to the maximum, and it notes that no projects consistent with the new standards have been proposed.

Community Development Director Marc Wiener told Easy Reader the goal is "more of an opportunity to create a sense of place, where people would want to go, such as Riviera Village."

The Garage Under the Rendering

The extra floor area gives owners a reason to rebuild, and it also adds a new cost, which shows up in the city's own illustration.

The rendering Easy Reader published, credited to the City of Redondo Beach, shows a hypothetical project on a 19,500-square-foot lot, which the caption calls common for Artesia. At 1.5 FAR, that lot supports a three-story, 29,000-square-foot building. It would also need a three-level underground garage with 98 to 117 parking spaces.

Three levels of excavation is one of the most expensive parts of any small commercial project, and it comes due before a single tenant signs. For a long-term owner with no debt, the decision has changed. It used to be "rebuild for nothing." Now it is "take on a major dig and a construction loan for 2.5 times the space." Some owners will run those numbers and go ahead. Others will keep collecting rent.

Rooftop dining is the one place the measure lowers that hurdle. Rooftop seating counts toward the 1.5 FAR, but it is exempt from additional parking requirements. That makes the roof the cheapest new square footage on the corridor, so the first visible changes could plausibly be added rooftop space on existing buildings rather than full rebuilds.

Parking demand on the corridor today also matters. The 2019 GPAC presentation measured utilization at 68% for on-street spaces and 50% for off-street lots. A September 2025 Planning Commission item describes the area plan's parking changes as a way to reduce barriers to redevelopment. The official ballot argument against the measure makes a related point. Its author wrote in an Easy Reader comment that "higher allowances do not guarantee that projects will be financed, built, or deliver the anticipated benefits."

Why the Whole City Votes on One Boulevard

Most cities change commercial zoning by council vote. Redondo Beach can't, because of Measure DD, which voters approved in November 2008 as Article XXVII of the City Charter. Any "major change in allowable land use" needs a majority vote of residents. That includes adding more than 40,000 square feet of nonresidential floor area above what is built today.

That threshold is why Artesia's long timeline has looked the way it has. The focused General Plan update began in 2016, the City Council adopted the Artesia and Aviation Corridors Area Plan on December 8, 2020, and the 27-member advisory committee finished its work in January 2024. None of the new intensity takes effect until voters ratify it.

The ballot also covers more than Artesia. Measure ART combines the Council's November 2024 "Other Residential Changes" with its August 2026 nonresidential amendments. The package also includes:

1. Industrial land north of Manhattan Beach Boulevard: 43 properties, about 231 acres, going from 0.70 to 1.00 FAR.
2. Forty commercial properties on Pacific Coast Highway moving from C-2 to C-4, which doubles allowable intensity from 0.50 to 1.00 FAR.
3. One 3,951-square-foot property on Torrance Boulevard rezoned to Public/Institutional.

The official ballot question also says the measure would reduce allowed residential density on some residential and mixed-use properties. Wiener told Easy Reader those are "minor changes" and that "most properties are not affected." The official argument against says the bundle forces "one all-or-nothing vote." It also questions holding a special election, which its author puts at about $250,000, four months before the regular March 2, 2027 municipal election. Obagi's rebuttal argues that "one, coordinated update" fits "this critical time for brick-and-mortar businesses." The full text, the impartial analysis, and both sides' arguments are posted on the City Clerk's election page.

What Moves When the Buildings Can't

Under the current rules, the corridor still changes. It just changes inside existing walls. Mickey's Deli, a Hermosa Beach staple, opened its second location at 2716 Artesia Blvd. near Inglewood Avenue at the end of February 2026, according to the Daily Breeze. Juicy Dumpling Factory was open by early January at 1760 Aviation Blvd., in a space that previously housed a Denny's, as reported by Easy Reader.

The North Redondo Beach Farmers' Market launched on April 22, 2026, on Green Lane between Artesia Boulevard and Vanderbilt Lane, as a six-month city pilot. The market's website still lists it every Wednesday from 2 to 7 p.m. It sets up on a side street and uses none of the corridor's buildings.

Reading the Corridor if You're Buying Nearby

For a buyer comparing North Redondo with other beach-city neighborhoods, the boulevard's future depends on two separate decisions. Voters make the first one on November 3. Individual property owners make the second, one lot at a time, after they price out excavation and financing. Obagi told Easy Reader he expects construction "as soon as June of next year, or winter of next year" if the measure passes. That is a councilmember's estimate, not a schedule. He also predicted that "people will probably start buying property before (the new rules) go into effect."

Corridor parcels changing hands would be an early sign. A sale often moves a property from a debt-free long-term owner to a buyer who paid today's price and has to earn it back. That is exactly the pressure the 2019 review found missing.

Quick Answers

If Measure ART passes, does it take effect everywhere right away? A majority vote ratifies it. The City Attorney notes that amendments in the coastal zone also need California Coastal Commission approval.

What happens to homes that sit inside the new commercial zones? The city says it is preparing amendments to its nonconforming-use standards so owners can keep maintaining those homes, including 13 existing residential units along PCH.

Has anyone proposed a project under the new rules? Not as of the city's August 2026 analysis, which reported no projects consistent with the proposed corridor standards.

This post is general information, not legal, tax, or financial advice. If you own property in or next to one of these zones, confirm how the measure applies to you with the city and the right professional.

If you own a home a few blocks off Artesia or Aviation, the corridor's next few years will shape how buyers see your street. Jenny Morant Group tracks these zoning changes block by block for North Redondo clients. Start with an instant home valuation, and we'll walk you through what the November 3 vote could mean for your property.